The Treasury of Lives

Jayulwa Zhonnu Wo (bya yul ba gzhon nu 'od) was born in 1075, the wood-rabbit year of the first sexagenarian cycle, in a town called Golgo Lung (gol go lung) in the Tolung (stod lung) region. His father was named Yungdrung Tenbar (g.yung drung brtan 'bar), of the Nyo (gnyos) clan (rigs). His mother was named Gyijangza Chambu (gyi ljang bza' lcam bu). His childhood name was Bumtak ('bum rtag).

When Jayulwa was an infant his father passed away and his mother remarried. As a result, unable to remain with his mother, he was raised by his paternal aunt.

When he was seven he met Tolungpa Chenpo Rinchen Nyingpo (stod lung pa chen po rin chen snying po, 1032-1116), who was a student of Chennga Tsultrim Bar (spyan snga tshul khrims 'bar, 1038-1103). The man was impressed by the young child and gave him a blessing.

At the age of twelve Jayulwa received tonsure at Tsatok Monastery (tsha thog dgon). A monk named Gompa Jangdrak (sgom pa byang grags) served as abbot, while Yeshe Gyeltsen (ye shes rgyal mtshan), another disciple of Chennga Tsultrim Bar, served as master (ācārya). They gave him the name Zhonnu Wo. He remained at home in Golgo for about a year following the ordination.

When Jayulwa was fourteen he went to visit his mother shortly before her death and gave her refuge and bodhicitta vows. His grief at her passing engendered a disgust in saṃsāra and compelled him further onto the religious path.

For the next two years he remained with Rinchen Nyingpo, serving him as an attendant. While doing so he received teachings on scriptures such as Śāntideva's Śikṣāsamuccaya and Bodhicaryāvatara.

Rinchen Nyingpo presented Jayulwa to his master Chennga when the young man was around the age of sixteen. Jayulwa impressed the elderly master by circumambulating the offering maṇḍalas Chengga had created that morning. Chennga praised Jayulwa to Rinchen Nyingpo, who offered to give his disciple to his master. Sources hint that it may have been Jayulwa's request that caused his transfer; while he is remembered for his faithful devotion to Chennga, Jayulwa appears to have complained that Rinchen Nyingpo was a difficult master who scolded him frequently.

Jayulwa's hard labor for Chennga, such as during the construction of Chennga's monastery Lo (lo dgon) to the northeast of Lhasa, was such that it was said not a single stone used in the construction of a stūpa and temple there was not touched by his hand. He once remarked, "I was unable to please my teacher with my knowledge and wealth, but as my body had a service to perform, I did this work until my flesh and blood were transformed into blisters."¹ Chengga is recorded as praising Jayulwa's faith and wisdom, and he kept the disciple beside him when teaching. Jayulwa served Chengga for nine years.

Although some fellow disciples, such as Potowa Rinchen Sel (po to ba rin chen gsal, 1027-1105), approved of him, Jayulwa's ardent service apparently irritated some of Chennga's other disciples. They disparaged Jayulwa's intellect and his ability to comprehend Chennga's teachings, saying he was merely a servant. According to hagiographies, however, Jayulwa gained realization one morning while discarding ashes from the cook stove. Believing that his devotion was the source of his accomplishment, he remarked of his fellow disciples that they "did not strive in the service of the teacher, but only strove towards study. That was their mistake."²

The Blue Annals preserves a conversation between Jayulwa and his disciple Nyigompa (snyi sgom pa) that highlight's Jayulwa's opinion of intellectual pursuits of enlightenment. On being asked how to came to his understanding of the two truths, Jayulwa stated, "An enlightened thought in relation to the relative truth and an enlightened thought in relation to the ultimate truth were both produced in my mind." Asked whether one should examine the nature of mind or of objects, Jayulwa continued:

By a doctrine which is similar to the application of fat to a wound when an arrow piece remains inside, nothing can be reached; by a doctrine which is similar to tracing the footsteps of a thief to a monastery when he had escaped to the forest and mountain, nothing is to be gained. Having declared one's own mind to be non-substantial by nature, the fetters of the outside world will fall of by themselves, for all is emptiness.³

Asked when this realization came to him, Jayulwa replied "when attending on Chennga."

Following Chennga's death in 1103 Potowa invited the twenty-eight-year-old Jayulwa to reside with him. Fearing that doing so would anger his previous master Tolungpa Rinchen Nyingpo, he moved between Puchung (phu chung), the seat of his fellow disciple Puchungwa Zhonnu Gyeltsen (phu chung ba gzhon nu rgyal mtshan, 1031-1106), and other places in the region.

Ultimately he established his own seat, Jayul Monastery (bya yul dgon) in Jayul, a valley in southern Dakpo, on land given him by a man named Zhawa (zha ba). The land had come to Zhawa from two tantric practitioners, a husband and wife; the husband had attempted to present it to the teacher Langri Tangpa Dorje Sengge (glang ri thang pa rdo rje seng ge, 1054-1123), who had declined it. It seems that the local spirits were troublesome. Although Jayulwa, who was pleased with the land, was able to transfer most of the deities to other locations, one nāgā remained and had to be subjugated. Eventually Jayulwa constructed a temple of twelve pillars—a mid-sized structure—with a large courtyard surrounded by forty-two pillars. Sharawa Yonten Drak (sha ra ba yon tan grags, 1070-1141), a fellow disciple of Chennga, sent men to aid in the construction. Lumber was brought from Nyangpo (myang po) and Naksho (nags shod) by a disciple named Sherseng (sher seng). Jayulwa resided at the monastery for the summer retreat and traveled the rest of the year.

Only later in life did Jayulwa take full ordination, having been earlier dissuaded from doing so by Chennga. Only when he dreamed of Chennga giving him an Indian monastic robe did he feel he was able to take the vows. Ngok Chowang (rngok chos dbang) acted as abbot, and a man named Mangra (mang ra) served as ācārya. Gya Sherab Bar (rgya shes rab 'bar), who acted as secret preceptor, also taught him the Vinaya.⁴

Jayulwa's disciples, said to have been in the hundreds, are grouped by geography: the "greats" of the outer regions, the border regions, and the inner regions, the last referring to central Tibet. Among them were Gampopa Sonam Rinchen (sgm po pa bsod nams rin chen, 1079-1153), Zhonnu Drakpa (gzhon nu grags pa, 1090-1171), Dorje Mikyo (rdo rje mi bskyod), Dutsi Charchen (bdud rtsi char chen), and Rinchen Namkha Dorje (rin chen nam mkha' rdo rje, 1077-1161), who would take over the abbacy of Jayul upon his master's death. 

Jayulwa Zhonnu Wo passed away at the age of sixty-four, in 1138, the earth-horse year of the second sexagenary cycle. His disciples argued at first over his remains, ultimately cremating his body on the roof of the temple.

¹ Blue Annals, 287.

² Blue Annals, 288.

3 Blue Annals, 290.

4 Blue Annals, 291.